In the field of household appliances, solutions have to be found, in order to allow an inner chamber obtained in a casing of said appliances, typically a washing chamber of a washing machine, such as a dishwasher, to be closed. To this regard, a door is used, which is mobile relative to the casing so as to open and close an access opening, through which the inner chamber is able to communicate with the outside of the household appliance.
Generally, these apparatus comprise an engagement element, which is intended to be fitted on one between said casing and said door, and a retaining element, which is intended to be fitted on the other one between the door and the casing. The retaining element is suited to hold the engagement element in a releasable manner, so as to constrain the door to the casing, when the household appliance is being used.
Typically, the coupling between the engagement element and the retaining element takes place by means of the action of a user, who brings them closer by manually pushing the door against the casing, so as to obtain a complete closing. The uncoupling between the engagement element and the retaining element takes place by means of the action of the user, who acts upon suitable control interfaces (for example, provided on the front wall of the door or on the front or upper face of the casing), which activate inner mechanisms of the retaining element, which release the engagement element from the retaining element.
In this field, some apparatuses have turn out to be technically advantageous, namely those apparatuses that are designed to permit a so-called “pre-opening” of the door, in particular of washing machine, especially of dishwashers. In detail, the door is brought to an ajar state, in which it is only slightly angularly spaced apart from the casing of the household appliance, thus creating, together with the latter, a slit that is able to establish a fluid communication between the washing chamber and the outside. This solution is particularly advantageous in washing machines, for example dishwashers, since it allows the steam generated during the washing cycle to be let out, thus contributing to the at least partial drying of the articles contained in the washing chamber.
To obtain the above-mentioned pre-opening of the door, some variants of these apparatuses provide a striker, which is mounted so as to be mobile relative to a support body between a retracted position and an extracted position. When the striker is coupled to the retaining element and assumes the retracted position, the door is in a complete closing condition, in which it closes the access opening of the casing in a fluid-tight manner. On the other hand, when the striker is coupled to the retaining element and assumes the extracted position, the door is in a pre-opening condition, in which it is spaced apart from the access opening of the casing. The liberation of the striker, so that it can move from the extracted position to the retracted position, is further subordinate to a stop mechanism, which tends to move from a release position to a locking position and, in doing so, is electrically controlled by driving means, such as a motor or an actuator, which are suited to control the movement of the stop mechanism from the locking position to a release position. In the release condition the stop mechanism is adapted to free the striker, thus allowing it to move from the retracted position to the extracted position, when the striker is coupled to the retaining element. On the other hand, in the locking position condition the stop mechanism is adapted to hold the striker, when the latter is in the retracted position.
Though, these apparatus suffer from some drawbacks.
One drawback lies in the fact that, in these systems, when the washing machine is deactivated, the stop mechanism normally tends to move to the locking condition and to remain there. This situation can be potentially dangerous in case of an incorrect or accidental use of the machine on which the apparatus is installed, in particular by a baby. Consider, for example, what could happen if a baby were to enter the inner chamber of the washing machine through the access opening and close the door behind his/her back. In this case, the striker would be pushed backwards in the retracted position and the mechanism—which is in the locking position—would hold the striker in this position, thus leaving the door in a complete closed condition, with the risk for the baby of being trapped in the washing chamber.